Constant Gardening with Haarkon

Meet Magnus and India of Haarkon, photographers who travel the world in search of green houses (yeah, we know, sounds amazing). After stumbling across their Instagram account and discovering that they pretty much live in a Green House themselves, we just HAD to know more…

What is Haarkon?

Haarkon is our blog of the places we travel to, recommendations to eat/sleep/live by and a photographic journal of whatever we see along the way. It started about a year ago when we decided that there must be other people that like the things we like and so we decided to share our findings online – it’s also really handy for us to remind ourselves too!

Describe your home

We live in a modest 1 bed flat in a very green part of Sheffield (England) and have surrounded ourselves with souvenirs from our many garden visits. At the last count we had over 130 houseplants! Our style is quite minimal and we have a strict policy when it comes to bringing objects home; we have to really love something or find it incredibly useful for us to keep it.

Our favourite room is the living room – compared to our last house it feels like a village hall and we spend most of our time there. One end of the room is glass (in the form of sliding doors) and we love to look at the wildlife and greenery outside. We recently painted our bedroom a really dark blue-grey and it’s spectacular! Everything looks great against a dark colour and it feels really comforting to have it wrapped around us.

What inspired you to get in to botanical photography?

I (India) am a professional photographer and I find myself given all manner of different briefs and just sort of ‘fell into it’ because we’d visit places on our days off. We believe that you should show the work that you want more of and it certainly helps to be interested in your subject.

Royal Botanic Gardens in EdinburghRoyal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh

We’d like to think that any brief is a challenge.

Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh

Most memorable Green House visit?

Two really stick out for us; the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh were magnificent and we loved how ‘real’ it all felt. We are attracted to places that aren’t entirely neat and tidy and feel a little bit like the nature is left to it’s own devices. The glasshouse in Berlin Botanic Garden blew us away simply because of the scale of them – they’re so big and seemed to go on forever! Berlin was a great trip for us because we also found a whole host of places to eat and drink that it felt like a dream.

Berlin Botanic Garden

We like to make the most of our time away and make it feel less like work and more like an adventure together.

Berlin Botanic Garden

Do you have a favourite houseplant?

Yes! Our first plant purchase was a Schefflera (from Homebase) and it’s so happy that it recently reached the ceiling. We’ve since made a cutting and are patiently waiting for it to grow new roots. It was a big decision for us to cut it – we couldn’t entertain the idea of giving it away.

Top tips for indoor gardening?

Be realistic about the environment that you live in and try to match that to your plants’ preferences. It’s also important to think about the level of care you can give; if you’re often away from home then something that requires frequent watering is probably not the best plant for you.

Where to next?

We have a very long list of greenhouses that we’d love to visit; there are so many all over the world. We would love to go to Japan to see the gardens and experience a culture that is so different from ours, we’d also love to head in the other direction and do a little roadtrip through America!

WANT MORE?

Follow Magnus and India on Instagram here where they share plenty plant and gardening content.

The Spring Issue all about looking forward and recharging. Revitalise yourself, take stock, and get your home and lifestyle in tip-top condition. We explore progressive gardening ideas, show you how to turn your bathroom into a rejuvenation haven, and take you on a tour of homes that capture the essence of the season. Pick up your copy today and tell us what you think on Twitter @Elle_Deco using #SpringIssue.